About Pricing

We set the sale price of all DVDs and downloads.

Picking the right price to sell a film online is one of the most important decisions anyone can make. Set the price too high, and you will lose sales. Set it too low, and you'll lose money.

Fortunately, the math is pretty simple. At $4 of cost for manufacturing and fulfillment, we'd rather sell 20 DVDs at $13 than 10 DVDs at $20:

$13 price - $4 cost = $9 profit
20 * $9 = $180 total profit

vs.

$20 price - $4 cost = $16 profit
10 * $16 = $160 total profit

The key for b-side is that our on-demand production model means we don't have to set prices artificially high. If you replicate 1000 DVDs on your own, you'd probably want to set your price high enough to recoup your up-front investment. With on-demand production, there is no investment to recoup, so we can pick a better price and still earn money on every sale. Note that the same economics work for downloads, where there is no manufacturing cost.

As time goes on, b-side will have more and more data on exactly what independent film fans are willnig to pay for DVDs and downloads. The more we learn, the better we we will be at finding that ideal price to ensure you earn the most for your film.

b-side exists to help undiscovered films find their audience. One of the biggest challenges independent films face is the fact that they are overpriced. Because these films are typically sold online, and are produced in limited quantities, they don't enjoy the same low prices that you'd find at Wal-Mart or Best Buy for big Hollywood movies. These "big box" retailers price DVDs at or below their cost as a way to lure in shoppers to buy diapers and plasma TVs. When you sell your film on your own website, on the other hand, you are looking at DVD sales as the primary path to recoup your investment. Asking $24 for a DVD seems reasonable.

However, what this really means for independent movies is not only do they have to compete with blockbuster films for audience attention, in most cases they also cost considerably more to buy. As I type this, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," with over 3 hours of special features, is available new on Amazon.com for $7.99. Suddenly it doesn't seem so reasonable to ask people to fork over 3 times as much for something they might never have heard of.

What we know is that when people see a movie they love, many will want to own it on DVD. For independent films, the trick then becomes giving people a way to see a film without having to buy the DVD first. That just seems backwards.

Our downloads are priced low to give audiences a chance to see a film the first time without making that big leap. When combined with our upgrade pricing, people can decide at any time in the future if they want to own a DVD, with all of the special features, without being charged twice.

The bottom line is that we want to make it easier for people to see great movies, not harder.

We also don't want to insult the audience. On the other hand, look at Wal-Mart. Due to their agreements with the major studios, downloads on their online video store cost nearly the same as DVDs. But when someone pays $14.98 for "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest", they know that Disney paid nothing for manufacturing, artwork, and shipping, and Wal-Mart paid nothing for warehousing, stocking, or shelf space. People also know that they are limited to watching the movie on their PC or compatible device, and if they ever want the DVD, it's going to cost them another $19.96. Not only insulting, but it encourages the opposite behavior of what we want -- audiences become much more conservative, and much less open to trying something new, or something they haven't heard of.

So that's the b-side pricing philosophy in a nutshell:

1. Independent films should be reasonably priced
2. Downloads should cost less than DVDs
3. People should be able to upgrade to a DVD without penalty

We think you'll agree.